Belgium to be represented by Dardenne brothers’ film Jeunes Mères at 2026 Oscars

Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne’s 13th feature film Jeunes Mères has been selected to represent Belgium in the race for the 98th Oscar Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.

It was chosen by a selection committee composed of three members from the Wallonia-Brussels Federation and three members from the Flemish Community, reports RTBF.

The Oscar nominations for Best International Feature Film will be announced on 22 January, ahead of the glitzy award ceremony in Los Angeles on 15 March.

This latest feature by the filmmakers premiered earlier this year at the Cannes film festival. The film won the Best Screenplay Award, joining the eight awards the brothers had already won at previous editions of the French riviera festival.

In a similar vein to previous titles such as Rosetta, L’Enfant and Le gamin au vélo, Jeunes Mères is a social drama exploring the reality of life for the marginalised.

Set in the brothers’ home city of Liège, it is a tender portrait of five teenagers in a Liège maternity home that helps them adjust to their new lives. The poignant film delves into their options once they have decided to continues their pregnancies. Some of them are assisted in making contact with prospective adoptive parents, others how to cope with addiction, depression and family contact, as well as find housing.

Photo: Jeunes Mères ©Wallonie Bruxelles Images